Greetings all, This individual was a prominent person in checker circles for many years...friend to Grand Master and Duffer alike. During their many years, a crossboard and mail player, an official, and a publisher.... This individual spoke at least 2 languages, and was , in fact, the first person to EVER offer me an explanation of what my surname, ( H i n n e r s h i t z ) may actually mean when translated into the English language... What may not be so well known is that this person also wrote and published a highly regarded and successful ( sold many thousand copies) book on growing a certain "odoriferous" spice/plant/ vegetable....Who is this person...?PS,I used the search engine on these forums and searched for this individual, and their name has NEVER been mentioned on these boards, which I find ASTOUNDING, considering their many contributions to this game...!!!

Regards, Jay

Last edited by Jay H on Wed May 23, 2007 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Greetings Mr. Stephens,.......BINGO...!!!!!You are correct !!!!The one and only Louis Van Deven, who held several positions within the structure of the ACF, published " Midwest Checkers", a great publication (!!!) , and books on garlic and onions.

I believe he also wrote another book on Garlic...... I found this one on Google.

7722 Onions and Garlic Foreverby Louis Van Deven, $14.95This classic from 1992, written by a horticulturist who spent his working years at a jeweler's bench, was reprinted by the Garlic Seed Foundation in 2005

I used to correspond with him quite a bit, and below is the letter he sent me offering an explaination of what my surname means

It sounds good enough for me....!!!!!Congrats, Mr. Stephens !!!!!!

Whitefork, Help me out....where are you from, and what is your name.... To help jog my memory..?

I had quite a lot of correspondence with Van during the 1970's and 80's.We had arranged to meet during one of his visits to Europe, but unfortunately his flight from Holland to London was cancelled at the last minute and I never did meet him in person.

I once pointed out to him that in Basic Checkers, Part 4, Page 61, Note J at the end it should in fact read WW (White Win) and not RW, but I do not know if that correction was ever published.